This Harper's Weekly Newspaper was published during the Civil War, and
is part of our extensive collection of historical documents. We are
creating an online archive of this collection, to enable the serious
student of the War a deeper and broader understanding of the key people,
battles and events of the war.

(Scroll Down to See Entire Page, or Newspaper Thumbnails below will take you to the page of interest)

(Previous
Page) The mistake, then, was not in the failure to make an assault, which must have
ended disastrously. It will be objected that the
fire of the fleet made the garrison useless, by keeping them in their bomb.
proofs. But until the assault was made there was no
reason for the garrison to leave their bomb proofs.
If our force had attempted an assault, as at
Fort Wagner, the garrison,
we may rest assured, would
have made their appearance
at the right moment. As to the fire of the fleet, as soon as our forces
should
have reached the immediate
vicinity of the fort, this fire, if
kept up, would have told as effectually against
the assailants as against the assailed. As it was,
even in the reconnoissance
ten of our men were wounded by our own fire. It is true that a flag was carried
off, a horse stolen, and
an orderly bearing
dispatches killed, and naturally the question recurs, Why did not the whole
column advance and take the fort? But how was it at Fort Wagner? There hundreds
of our men got inside the work, part of which they held over an hour ; and yet
Fort Wagner was not taken. When it was taken after ward it was by siege. At Fort
Fisher, too, there were elements of resistance which did not exist at Wagner.
Besides an armament twice as heavy, there was in front of the work a ditch from
eight to ten feet in depth, which could be crossed only by a bridge twenty feet
in length. Under these circumstances, and in remembrance of the fact that no
assault on an earth work, defended by a determined
garrison, has succeeded during the war, we may congratulate ourselves on the
wisdom which deterred Generals
WEITZEL and
BUTLER from making
an attempt which would have magnified a simple
reverse into a great disaster.

The mistake seems to have been that the circumstances to which we have alluded
were not calculated upon in the first instance and before the expedition was
undertaken. Our naval and military authorities have had sufficient experience to
have avoided so glaring a mistake as this. The times have changed since
BUTLER and
STRINGHAM took Forts Clark and Hatteras. The rebels have learned, if we
have not, how much dependence can be put on a strong earth work stubbornly and
prudently defended ; and they are not so easily frightened by the mere mention
of an iron-clad as they formerly were.

Wilmington will be taken, and so will
Charleston ; but they will be taken as
SHERMAN took Savannah by a formidable investment, or else by our
occupation of such positions as render them untenable or unimportant.

We illustrate on
the preceding page the bursting of a 100-pound Parrott gun on board the
Juniata. A
similar accident occurred on board several vessels.
In this way a larger number of our men were wounded than by the guns of the
fort. What the cause may have been why all these accidents there were six of
them should have happened only to 100-pound Parrott guns, is a problem to
which the naval
authorities
will, we
hope, give the
proper attention.

THE DUTCH GAP CANAL.

WE have previously,
in No. 410, Volume VIII.,
given an illustration of General
BUTLER'S
Canal at Dutch Gap, while the work was still in operation.
The more picturesque and interesting sketch, which
we give on the first page, we reproduce from a photographic view, for which we
are indebted to Captain
S. L. LANGDON,
First United States Artillery.
This sketch gives
a view of the work in its last stages, while preparations were being made to
explode the bulk head.

Dutch Gap Canal was originally suggested by General
BUTLER.
James River is an extremely
tortuous stream, and especially so in its course around Farrar's Island.
This peninsula, misnamed an island, is forty miles from Richmond by the river,
although it is only one third that distance by a straight line. The bend of the
river here takes it seven miles out of its way, bringing it around again to a
point only two hundred yards from its point of deflection. A canal across these
two hundred yards not only saves a journey of seven miles,
but also evades the obstructions and batteries which make the bend
impassable to our fleet.

The work was surveyed on the 7th of August, and three days afterward was
actually commenced. Brigadier-General B.
C. LUDLOW, of General BUTLER'S
staff, acted as superintendent, assisted by Major
PETER S. MICHIE, Chief of Engineers. The enemy occupied elevated
positions threatening the workmen,
and it was necessary at first to proceed in
the same manner as in throwing up parallels in front of an enemy's
fortifications. In the beginning a declivity covered the working parties who at
first dug ditches, throwing the
earth up as a breast work. Several of these at length merged into a
single wide ditch, with a dam left so that the rush of water in opening the
lower part of the canal would not deluge the workmen in the upper part, who were
to dig fifteen feet below tide mark. Soon such progress
was made that rails were laid and cars supplied the place of wheel
barrows.

The enemy erected mortar batteries under cover of the river bank, which proved a
great annoyance. Then bomb proofs had to be built for security to the workmen.
In the beginning New York soldiers were employed, but these were subsequently
relieved by colored soldiers. These suffered much from fever, brought on by the
dampness to which they were exposed.

By the middle of November fifteen thousand cubic yards of earth had been removed
by hand. The steam dredge removed, in addition, fifty tons a day. In
little over a month more all that remained to be done was to remove the dam
between the two sections and the bulk head still left at the upper end. The dam
was easily removed by mining. More elaborate preparations, however, had to be
made for the removal of the bulk head. This was cut into three pieces, as far as
possible. Streets were cut through,
and thus one third of the mass of earth
removed. From the vertical cut on the left of the centre galleries were
run toward the centre ; and, after reaching a proper point, a shaft was sunk

twenty-eight feet in depth, from which galleries ran toward the river. Five
magazines were constructed, capable all together of holding six tons of
powder, and at four o'clock
P.M. on New Year's Day
the grand explosion took place. The effect was hardly what was expected. A great
proportion of the earth fell back again into the canal, and will
have to be removed by the dredging machine under circumstances not
especially advantageous. The length of the canal is between five and six hundred
feet, its greatest width about one hundred and twenty-two feet, and its greatest
depth about seventy feet. Unfortunately the entire length of the canal is now
open to the enemy's fire.

Since its commencement seven thousand shells have been thrown in and around the
canal; fifty men have been killed there, and two hundred wounded ; forty-five
horses have been killed, three barges sunk, and nine tugs disabled. The engineer
who has superintended the work,
PETER
S.
MICHIE, has been made Brevet Major, for meritorious services during the
campaign. He is a graduate of West Point, is modest in deportment, and a great
favorite among his brother officers.

LOYAL SAVANNAH.

THE situation of
Savannah, since its restoration to the Union, may be considered as an epitome of
the general state of the South when the restoration of that misguided section
shall have been finally accomplished. We doubt if the intelligence of HOOD'S
defeat will produce an effect as demoralizing
upon the remaining citizens of the Confederacy as the latest news from Savannah.
A country of
vast resources, really contending against oppression,
may look upon the spectacle of a defeated army and still remain dauntless and
determined. But when a great section like the South, entangled against the
popular will and through the delusive pretexts of ambitious leaders, in a war
needless and criminal from the first, looks upon a spectacle which illustrates
the deceit practiced upon the people and the criminality of the scheme in which
they have been involved, the effect is startling and revolutionary.

Such a spectacle is afforded to the people of the South in the attitude recently
taken by the citizens of Savannah. When
New Orleans was captured the case was
quite different. The animus of rebellion
had not then been so far spent, nor was its hopelessness so evident.
Besides, there was considerable difference in the original temper of the people
of the two cities. Savannah was captured at a time when the Confederacy had been
reduced almost to hopelessness, and it was captured under circumstances which
reflected great discredit upon the rebel Commander-in-Chief. It was to be
expected, therefore, that the emotion which her citizens would display would be
that of indignation against
DAVIS, and of passive acquiescence to the Federal power. But how will the
rebel leaders feel when they read the proceedings which actually followed upon
the capture of the city,
and find that, instead of passive submission, there is an element of
exultation of supreme gladness at the prospect of again living under the old
flag?

The city was captured on the 21st. Just one week afterward a meeting of citizens
was held under the call of their old Mayor, Doctor
RICHARD ARNOLD, and resolutions were unanimously adopted to lay down
their arms and accept peace, submitting to the national authority under the
Constitution, laying aside all differences, and burying by gones in the grave of
the past. These resolutions explicitly state that the citizens " do not put themselves
in the position of a captured city, asking terms of a conqueror," but
that of citizens of the United States. They, moreover, request Governor
BROWN to call a Convention of the people of Georgia, to give the latter
an opportunity of pronouncing for or against the continuance of the war.

It is probable that General
FOSTER'S
command will occupy Savannah when General
SHERMAN enters upon the new campaign for which he has been making
preparations. In the mean time
SHERMAN'S
orders in relation to the city are beneficent and judicious. While Savannah is
to be held as a military post, still ample provision is made for the 20,000
people within its limits, and for such others as may come. All the ordinary
pursuits of life are to be continued, and commerce with the outer world is to be
resumed to an extent commensurate with the wants of the citizens. The
Quarter-master and Commissary departments may give suitable employment to the
people, white or black, or transport them to such points as they choose, and may
extend temporary relief in the way of provisions and shelter. The Mayor and City
Council are to continue in the exercise of their functions.

The attitude assumed by the citizens toward General
SHERMAN does honor both to him and them. Immediately upon the General's
arrival Mr. CHARLES GREEN offered his elegant mansion for his head-quarters, a
favor of which the General availed himself. The house is the most elegant in the
city. As seen in our sketches, the vestibule is decorated with the banyan and
banana trees, and with rare and valuable statuary. The house fronts on a park,
and is almost hidden by the trees that surround it.

The evacuation of Savannah on the night of December 20 is represented to have
been a most ludicrous spectacle. Every kind of vehicle was pressed into use ;
and how hasty the departure was may be inferred from the fact that not a gun was
spiked, while vast stores of cotton were left uninjured.

Fort Jackson, of which we give two views, is so situated as to serve as one of
the defenses of Savannah River. It was seized, together with Fort Pulaski, by
order of Governor BROWN, January 3, 1861. Since that time it has been greatly
strengthened. Its original cost of construction was $182,000.

The capture of Savannah has destroyed an important channel of supply for LEE'S
army. In the course of a single week it has often happened that LEE has received
11,000 head of cattle via Savannah, on the Albany and Gulf Road, from Florida.
It is in this way that SHERMAN'S movements are
even now to be regarded as flank movements against the one great army of
the Confederacy.

INTERESTING ITEMS.

THE SUBTERRANEAN BARBER. It is well known that Sir Richard Arkwright to whose
ingenuity and perseverance, more than to any other cause, we are indebted for
the marvelous growth of our cotton manufactures began life as a poor barber. It
is now more than a hundred years since he occupied a kind of underground kitchen
in the town of Bolton, in Lancashire, to which he endeavored to attract
customers by exhibiting a board with the facetious inscription, " Come to the
Subterranean Barber; he shaves for a Penny." Whether the barbers of the town
really dreaded this announcement, or merely felt the customary jealousy toward
an interloper for Arkwright was a native, not of Bolton, but of Preston does not
appear; but a fierce opposition is said to have been at once commenced between
them. The Bolton barbers reduced their prices ; but the man whose inventive
genius was destined to create a revolution in British industry was not likely to
be beaten when fairly roused. Arkwright took down his board, and painted out the
offensive inscription ; but it was only to substitute the still more alarming
words "Richard Arkinwright, Subterranean Barber ; A Clean Shave for a Half
penny!" We may assume that the Bolton barbers after this left their underground
rival to shave the town in peace. Where Arkwright's cellar was, is not exactly
known indeed, the facts relative to his early life are somewhat obscure ; but
Mr. French, in his Biography of Crompton, informs us that a gentlemen in Bolton
still preserves, as a relic of Arkwright, the leaden vessel in which his
customers were accustomed to wash after being shaved. Like most handicraftsmen,
whose business leaves them much spare time, barbers are frequently ingenious men
a truth which appears to be as old as the Arabian Nights' Tales, most readers of
which will remember the barber who left his half shaven customers to take
astronomical observations in an adjoining garden. Arkwright appears to have
corresponded in many ways with that ancient prototype of Oriental humor. His
mind was always filled with schemes of ingenious mechanism for shortening labor,
and appears, like many other uneducated men, to have long dreamed of discovering
that philasopher's stone of mechanics perpetual motion. Like the wife of the
potter, Bernard Palissy, Mrs. Arkwright was not unnaturally impatient of his
neglect of the customers, who now began, we may suppose, to be more numerous in
the barber's kitchen. Convinced that he would starve his family by scheming when
he ought to be shaving, Mrs. Arkwright one day, in a fit of anger, destroyed
some of his cherished models of machinery ; and in a moment the unfortunate
barber saw the fruit of his labor and ingenuity, and all the prospective wealth
that they were to bring him, gone, as he thought, forever. Arkwright never
forgave this act. He separated from her immediately, nor would any thing induce
him ever to live with her again.

AMMONIA IN FIRES.—An apothecary at Nantes has just discovered by the merest
accident, that ammonia will put out fires. He happened to have about seventy
litres of benzine in his cellar, and his boy, in going down carelessly with a
light, had set fire to it. Assistance was speedily at hand, and pail after pail
of water was being poured into the cellar without producing any effect, when the
apothecary himself took up a pail which was standing neglected in the corner,
and emptied the contents into the cellar. To his astonishment the flames were
quenched as if by magic, and upon examination he found that the pail, which
belonged to his laboratory, had contained a quantity of liquid ammonia. The
result is easy to explain on scientific principles; for ammonia, which consists
of 82 parts of nitrogen and 18 of hydrogen, is easily decomposed by heat, and
the nitrogen thus set free in the midst of a conflagration must infallibly put
out the flames. A large supply of liquid ammonia properly administered would be
the promptest fire extinguisher ever imagined.

WHAT MAY BE DONE WITH OLD RAGS.—There is a church actually existing near Bergen,
Prussia, which can contain nearly one thousand persons. It is circular within,
octagonal without. The relieve, outside, and the statues within, the roof, the
ceiling, the Corinthian capitals, are all of papier mache, rendered water proof
by saturation in vitriol, lime water, whey, and white of egg. We have not yet
reached this audacity in our use of paper; but it should hardly surprise us,
inasmuch as we employ the same material in private houses, in steamboats, and in
some public buildings, instead of carved decorations and plaster cornices. When
Frederick II of Prussia set up a limited papier mache manufactory at Berlin, in
1765, he little thought that paper cathedrals might, within a century, spring
out of his snuff boxes by the sleight of hand of advancing art. At present, we,
who haunt cathedrals and build churches, like stone better. But there is no
saying what we may come to. It is not long since it would have seemed as
impossible to cover eighteen acres of ground with glass as to erect a pagoda of
soap bubbles; yet the tiling is done. When we think of a psalm sung by one
thousand voices pealing through an edifice of old rags, and the universal
element bound down to carry our messages with the speed of light, it would be
presumptuous to say what can and what can not be achieved by science and art
under the training of steady old Time.

SCANDAL and gossipings are things to be kept out of, rigidly, with an unbending
back and lips hermetically sealed. If indeed any one likes an affectionate
affiliation with hornets, and rather prefers than not a wasp's nest for a
domicile, let him go into the world of gossip that floating, restless, Protean
world where nothing is as it seems, or seems as it is. He will have a rare time
of it, and ample opportunities for studying the properties of venom and the law
of projectiles. And one thing we devoutly hope he will have an opportunity for
studying the law of the moral boomerang, which brings back upon his own pate,
and with a pretty sharp crack too, the scandal and the lie which he has flung at
another. If people would but keep out of the vortex of gossip a great many more
lives than are allowed to do so now would stand clear and free of blame; for
gossip, as a rule, deals in lies not truths, and for one accusation with a root
grounded in fact there are thousands head downward, with all four feet in the
air, and not a leg to stand on.

AN ANCIENT HUMAN RELIC.—The Nouvelliste of Rouen relates the following strange
circumstance: " The Marquis de V—, who possesses a fine property on the borders
of the Forest of Cinglait (Calvados), has on his grounds a number of old
Druidical oaks. A few days since, some workmen, who were employed in cutting
down one of those trees, were surprised at finding in the hollow trunk the body
of a man, which, on being touched, fell to dust. By his side was found the
remains of a lance, the iron head of which alone was perfect. The supposition is
that the man had been placed there, either dead or alive, by means of an
incision made in the tree, the bark of which had afterward grown over and
concealed the opening ; and from the antique form of the lance head, the belief
is that he was one of the followers of Rollon, the leader of the men from the
North who first invaded Neustria.

A Times correspondent relates the following incident connected with the battle
of Nashville: " I was near General Thomas upon one occasion, when a shower of
bullets rained in among his staff the whole assemblage being less than half a
mile from the rebel line. `Why,' says the General, ‘I believe the scoundrels are
shooting at me.' He did not vacate the premises, however, until duty called him
to another part of the field."

A LAUGHABLE incident of the bribery practiced at the recent election in New York
is told by a correspondent: An Irishman, who thought his vote worth half a day's
wages, agreed to vote the Democratic ticket for one dollar. He went to the
tavern where the ballots and bribes were distributed, and receiving a ticket.,
which he was assured was all right, went over to the polls to deposit it, which
he did without difficulty or objection. That done, he returned to the tavern to
get his dollar, and was astonished at being told that a bill for that amount was
inclosed in his ticket. He had actually deposited both the dollar and ballot in
the box, and had the assurance, after the closing of the polls and while the
tickets were being counted, to go to the inspectors and claim the money. The
bill was found in the ballot, but the latter was thrown out, and the Irishman
did not get the former.

BRIDE AND GROOM A CENTURY AGO.—To begin with the ady: Her locks were strained
upward over an immense nation that sat like an incubus on her head, and plas-

shows, my attention was drawn to a menagerie by a band of nigger minstrels
stationed on the outside of it, playing appropriate airs. Above and behind the
musicians a series of wonderful works of Art indicated the wonderful works of
Nature to be seen within. Among these paintings was the figure of an enormously
fat man, entitled, in large illuminated letters underneath his portrait, "The
Second Daniel Lambert." I thought I should like to se this second Daniel, and
being what is euphemistic- ally called stout myself, walked up and demanded
gratuitous admission on the ground of being one of the brotherhood. But that,
the money-taker said, could not entitle me to see the lions and tigers, be-
cause, if I was a monster, still I was not a beast. I accepted the compliment,
paid my money, and went in.

The Fat Man was in a sort of annexe to the carat van. He panted and perspired
very much. " Hard work, Sir," I observe d.

Puffing laboriously, he answered, " Yes, Sir!"

" I hope, Sir," I said, "that your exertions are liberally rewarded by Mr.
Saunders"--tbe name of the showman.

" I am Mr. Saunders, Sir. I am my own pro- prietor."

" No ! Are you, though, really ? Well, Sir, I admire your moral courage. You
show your sense, Sir, in thus accepting your situation, and making the most of
yourself."

"Ab, Sir I" he said, " I have made the most of myself indeed. This fat, Sir"—he
did not say this here fat, but spoke very much like a gentleman— "all this fat
is not natural."

" Is it not ?"

"No, Sir. I am"--here he slightly chuckled-- "what you may call a self-made
man."

"Ah!" said I, " that's what we stout gentlemen most of us are, I'm afraid. We do
make prize-pigs of ourselves with our eyes open—in that particular unlike the
pigs."

" I did it on purpose, Sir."

'On purpose, Sir?"

" Yes, Sir, on purpose. 1' hen I started this concern, I thought I might as well
become part of it, by making an exhibition of myself. I had a reason for it.
What are appearances, Sir?"

" Full eight yards round," I answered. " Sir, I respect your contempt for
appearances. and for the people who are astonished by them, and who come and
stare at you. And so you made yourself of this size, Sir?"

" I did, Sir."

"How did you do it, Sir?"

" The old way, Sir—eating and drinking. " What did you eat, Sir ?"

" Potatoes. I ate a good deal of potatoes. And bread, Sir. Ate a good deal of
bread. You see, Sir, I did just the reverse of what Mr. Banting recommends for
bringing this down."

" Did you, Sir ?"

" Yes, Sir. Butter. I ate a good deal of that. Sugar, too ; large quantities of
sugar. Sugar's vet y fattening, contains so much carbon ; dissolves so fast and
runs into fat. Pies, tarts, puddings, sweets of all kinds. Pork too, Sir, pork :
ate a great deal of pork. Not much bacon ; no. Don't like it; too filling to
fatten on. Salmon, stewed eels, trio; nice, rich, nourishing ; very fond of
stewed eels. Milk and cream ; have two bowls of bread and milk a day. Oil, and
starch, and saccharine matter, Sir; as much as possible of food containing
plenty of oil, starch, and saccharine matter."

" What did you drink, Sir?"

" As much fluid as possible, Sir ; as much of every pleasant fluid. A good
deal of tea ; 'tin a sulvent for the solid food. Beer ; ale, good fat BLrtoti.
Stout. Fruity port. Clicquot's Champagne. Hot rum and water, strong and sweet.
Ah !"

"You must have had a strong motive, Sir, to !re- duce you to acquire a bulls
which appears to be distressing."

"I had, Sir. My wife died, Sir, and at the s:. time I experienced a reverse of
fortune. I los a one son, Sir, to whom I am desirous of giving a good education.
Having bad an indifferent (eta myself, I had no means of earning the
wherewithti' by intellectual exertion. Always rather di; i:,u'd exertion of any
kind. Thought that the lust trou- blesome way of getting money would be. tding
about with a show. At that time Mr -ban ling's pam- phlet fell in my way. It
rim' an imlirestiou on me. I wanted a wonderf-' fat tnan. Couldn't one be made
by practici the contrary of Banting's rules? Why nr"make one of myself? :,s
I had determined t, start a show, fancied that the pleasntest ohapation would
be that of clamming my. self -~., as my son says, for its chief attraction."

tered over with pomatum, and then sprinkled over with
a shower of white powder. The height of this tower was somewhat over a
foot. One single white rose-bud lay on its top like au eagle on a haystack. Over
her neck and bosom was folded a lace handkerchief, fastened in front by a
bosom-pin rather larger than a dollar, containing your grandfather's miniature
set in virgin gold. Her airy form was braced up in a satin dress, the sleeves as
tight as the natural skin of the arm, with a waist formed by a bodice, worn
outside, from whence the skirt flowed off, and was distended at the top by an
ample hoop. Shoes of white kid, with peaked toes, and heels of two or three
inches' elevation, inclosed her feet, and glittered with
spangles, as her little pedal members peeped curiously out. Now for the
swain: His hair was sleeked hack and plentifully
befloured, while his queue projected like the handle
of a skillet. His coat was a sky-blue silk, lined with yellow; his long
vest of white satin, embroidered with gold lace; his breeches of the same
material, and tied at the knee with pink ribbon. White silk stockings and pumps,
with laces, and ties of the same hue, completed the habiliments of his
nether limbs. Lace ruffles clustered around his wrist, and portentous frills
worked in correspondence, and bearing the miniature of his beloved, finished his
truly genteel appearance.

A WONDERFUL FAT MAN.

I was idling about one of those towns the inhabitants of which, entertaining a
serious objection to theatres, are obliged to depend, for amusement, on
itinerant lecturers, conjurors, comic recitationists, popular preachers, and
circuses, and othe

Site Copyright 2003-2014
Son of the South. For Questions or comments about this collection,
contact paul@sonofthesouth.net